Superman walked into the courtroom at ten minutes before one and sat down at the table between Connie and Blair. The two women were each reviewing their notes for the trial and neither spoke until Blair glanced up and said, “Hey, big guy. How’s your day so far?”
Superman gave her a hooded glare. “What do you think?”
Blair turned and faced him directly. “I think you got a serious problem chewin’ on the inside o’ your belly and it ain’t the trial.”
He held her gaze for a moment, then turned and faced forward. “Until the trial’s over, I can’t do anything about it.”
Blair gently touched his wrist with her long, slender fingers. “I think you’d better do something about it now, before you let things get too far out of hand.”
Connie leaned in and said, “Go talk to her. Tonight. Get your thoughts and feelings out in the open. Listen to her, and I mean really listen. Hear not only her words but her hopes and dreams.”
He frowned and slid down in his chair. “What makes you think this has anything to do with her?”
Blair lifted her hand from his wrist and thumped one finger against his temple.
“Hey! What was that for?”
“Just testing.”
“Testing for what?”
Blair nodded sagely. “Yep, just like I thought. You’re super-dense, too.”
Connie stifled a chuckle, and before Superman could respond, the door to the judge’s chambers opened and the bailiff stepped out. Most of the spectators and both legal teams stood, expecting him to announce the judge, but instead he stepped before the bench and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that Judge Fields has taken ill and will not appear this afternoon. He has instructed me to let everyone know that this court will reconvene at nine o’clock on Friday morning, September 26th. He deeply regrets his absence and expects to see everyone here on time on Friday. Thank you.” He marched commandingly from the courtroom.
Connie turned to Jack. “Is this for real? Is Judge Fields really sick?”
Jack nodded. “He has what he calls a ‘twitchy’ gall bladder. Sometimes it acts up like this, especially if he doesn’t watch what he eats, and it usually takes him at least a day to fully recover. This isn’t a stall or some kind of trick, Connie, the man really is in pain.”
She nodded. “Okay, Jack. In that case, we’ll see you on Friday.”
“Unless you want to accept my offer.”
She smiled and shook her head. “It’s not bad, but no thanks. We’ll take our chances with the jury.”
Jack picked up his briefcase. “Your choice. I hope it doesn’t blow up in your face.”
She watched him as he strode out of the courtroom. “Yeah, me too,” she mumbled.
*****
Superman flew his evening patrol early that day, and it was a good thing he did. He spotted an armed robbery in progress at a branch of the Bank of New Troy and swooped down to relieve the three thieves of their weapons, then tied them together with duct tape that he’d ‘borrowed’ from the hardware store across the street. The owner came out to admire his handiwork and smilingly told him not to worry about paying for the tape if he could advertise that he’d assisted Superman in the capture. Superman smiled back and told him that as long as the man didn’t take too much of the credit, he had no problem.
As soon as the police arrived and taken his statement, he resumed his patrol. All was quiet until just before dark, and he decided that Clark could use the extra day to do some work, but just before he headed west he heard the frantic yip of a small dog in serious trouble.
He followed the sound and spotted a small Chihuahua being pursued through an alley behind a lumber yard by a pack of yowling cats. The dog was almost exhausted, so he landed in front of it and scooped it up just before a large Siamese hooked its claws in the back end of the trembling pooch.
At a whim, he whisked the pup to the roof of the nearest building, speedily built a cage from the junk in the alley which would confine all but the smallest of the cats, gathered them into their prison, and deftly retrieved the dog before it could get into more trouble. He landed and petted the dog until it calmed slightly.
“It’s okay, it’s all right,” he crooned softly. “They won’t hurt you now. Is there a collar here? Yep. Let’s see, your name is Nicky, and you belong – whoa!” He lifted Nicky up close to his face. “You want to go home now, Nicky?” The dog licked his face vigorously. “Okay, Nicky, let’s go find your owner.”
*****
The woman hugged Nicky to her chest and tried to hold in her sobs of relief. “Thank you, Superman, thank you so very much. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost little Nicky.”
He nodded. “All in a day’s work, Mayor. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other duties.”
“Of course. Wait!”
He paused in mid-leap. “Yes?”
She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “You know I’m on your side, don’t you?”
“I would hope you were on the side of justice, Mayor.”
“I am, but – “ she put her hand on his arm “ – I think you’re getting a raw deal. I think you’ll be found not guilty, and I hope when that happens you won’t hold the city of Metropolis or its citizens responsible for all this.”
He turned and faced her. “I don’t hold anyone responsible for this except myself.” He exhaled and dropped his shoulders. “If anyone’s at fault, it’s me.”
She shook her head. “No, Superman. The city and the state dropped the ball four years ago when we didn’t stop Intergang. You were placed in an untenable position, and you reacted as anyone else might have reacted.”
He shook his head. “I can’t afford the luxury of being like anyone else, Mayor. If I lose my temper, someone could die.”
She nodded and released his arm. “I understand what you’re saying, but you’re not the only person who’s ever been in such circumstances. Others before you have taken lives in the heat of the moment and been judged not guilty by their peers.”
He stepped back. “Mayor, I appreciate your kind words, and I assure you that I’m not leaving the city unless the city wants me to leave, at least not permanently. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really have to go.”
“Thank you again, Superman. Oh, what happened to the cats chasing Nicky?”
He grinned slightly. “I’m taking them to the Metropolis Humane Society. They’ll make sure they don’t have any more little wild kittens, and then they’ll do their best to find them good homes.”
She grinned back. “Good. Goodbye, Superman, and thank you again.” The dog wiggled in her arms and yipped twice. “Oh, look, Nicky says ‘thank you’ too.”
He reached out and let Nicky lick his hand once more. “You’re both more than welcome.” Then he waved good-bye and lifted into the gathering twilight.
*****
It was almost nine-thirty when Lois finally pushed through the front door of her apartment. She dropped her purse on the end table, flopped onto the couch, pushed her shoes off and let them fall, and closed her eyes.
The day had been one conflict after another. The problem Jim had briefly mentioned on the phone had turned out to be Ralph and two other reporters arguing over credit for a story on the city’s parks director revealing his alleged proclivity for romancing young female lifeguards. As it turned out, all anyone had was unsubstantiated statements from three teenage girls who accused the director of inappropriate behavior, and that was seriously undermined when Sheila Thompson, one of the gofers Lois had recently hired, identified two of the accusers as troublemakers as far back as junior high school.
Lois had ordered Ralph to take over the story and double-verify everything he had, and if he couldn’t do that to drop it. The Daily Planet wasn’t a scandal rag and would not turn into one under Lois Lane’s watch.
Then the trucker’s union representative had paid her an unscheduled visit and berated her for almost an hour before she threatened to have him thrown out. Ingrid Bliss, head actuary, had then stuck her head into Lois’s office and pinned her down with what Lois thought was an unnecessary review of the latest financials on the paper. Then someone realized that the evening edition’s page one sports headline was spelled wrong on the proof sheet – the print team had left the ‘r’ out of the word ‘Panthers’ – and they’d run right up against the distribution deadline before correcting the error in a flurry of panic.
Just as that crisis had ended, Alice White had called with an invitation to a charity concert in November and small talk about her husband, Senator Perry, and how much she enjoyed shuttling back and forth between Metropolis and Washington and how much she loved having Perry close and how much time they’d been able to spend together once he’d gotten a handle on his Senate schedule and Lois was close to screaming by the time Alice hung up.
Then the night editor’s wife had called in and said her husband had fallen from a ladder and broken his arm and would be in the hospital overnight. Lois had had to scramble to help his substitute to get a good start on the night shift. The young woman was eager, willing, and able, but was also very inexperienced, and Lois might have fired her on the spot had she not forced herself to remember that her inexperience wasn’t the girl’s fault, and that Lois would have had to stay overnight to do the job if the girl hadn’t been there.
Surely tomorrow would be better.
>>> Thursday, September 25th
More real life intruded on Lois the next morning. The coffee machine in the newsroom got plugged up somehow and poured hot water all over itself and the floor, and the water shorted out the breaker when it spilled over the electrical outlet. The soft drink and candy machines in the break room turned off and stayed off when the breaker flipped because of the coffee machine and everyone who lacked a snack stash went grumpy for the rest of the day because the service people had a full schedule and wouldn’t be out to fix anything until the next day.
The office water dispenser ran out and they had to buy a cooler filled with ice and soft drink cans to keep everyone away from the snack bar in the lobby and at their desks.
The ladies’ room ran out of tissue and towels and the men howled that they were almost out and they couldn’t afford to share.
Lois managed to solve that one by sending Ron out to the nearest convenience store, but he griped so much about being treated like a gofer that Jim told him to pipe down and Ron nearly started a fight with him. Lois was forced to yell at both of them until they walked away from each other.
In between all the problems and difficulties, they somehow managed to get the paper out on time.
Lois went back into her office and leaned against the desk. “I feel like a kindergarten teacher,” she muttered.
“Sometimes you have to be.”
Her head spun around. “What? Oh, Cath, it’s you.”
“Well, thanks for the enthusiastic greeting.”
“Sorry, it’s been a long day.” Lois rubbed her temples. “Hey, shouldn’t you be heading home soon?”
Catharine gingerly lowered herself onto the sofa. “Yeah, but I’m supposed to testify tomorrow morning and I’m trying to get three days worth of work done in one.” She leaned her head back and gritted her teeth. “I think I might have overdone it a bit, though.”
Lois forgot her own troubles and rushed to her friend’s side. “Hey, take it easy! You need some medication?”
“Already took some.”
“Can I call Clay?”
Catharine shook her head, but then winced and sucked air in between her teeth. “That one hurt.” She took two deep breaths and relaxed slightly. “Yeah, maybe you’d better.”
Lois put a pillow behind Catharine’s head. “Here. You relax while I make that call. Is he home?”
“Call his cell. I think he’s out running some errands.” She leaned back against the pillow. “Ohh, that feels better already.”
Lois waited while the phone rang twice. “Sergeant Mooney here.”
“Finally! Clay, this is Lois. Cath’s hurting and she needs some help getting home.”
“Be right there. She need the chair or the crutches?”
Without glancing at her friend, Lois said, “Chair. And she stays home tomorrow after she testifies. The Thompson girls can cover for her.”
“You betcha. I’m off tomorrow too, so I’ll make it stick.”
“Good. See you when you get here.”
“I’m just around the block, so it won’t be long.”
Lois put down the phone and saw Catharine glaring at her. “Off tomorrow? Are you kidding? Do you know what Shelia and Bernadette wanted to publish in the society column on Saturday?”
“Never mind. They can set up the layout for the wedding and engagement announcements. Anything comes up they can’t handle, they can call you and you can work from home, as long as you do it sitting down.”
“Come on, Lois – “
“No! I won’t have you hurt yourself because of me.”
Catharine stared for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. I promise I won’t hurt myself for you.”
“I mean it! I won’t let you lose your – lose any more time from work because of that bad back.” She tried to smile. “Besides, I want to keep Clay as a friend.”
Catharine smiled easily. “He’s a good man.”
“Yes, he is, and I won’t have one of Metropolis’s finest angry with me.”
“He might be a little angry with me.”
“What? Why?”
Catharine shifted gingerly on the couch. “I promised him I wouldn’t overdo, especially this early.”
“You mean, this early with the baby?”
“Yes. Doctor Amundsen doesn’t like my work schedule. She thinks I should go to half days.”
Lois sat next to her. “Cath, if that’s what needs to happen, that’s what needs to happen. You have to take care of yourself so you can take care of that little one.”
Catharine frowned. “I know. It’s hard, though. I’ve been a quality employee at every job I’ve ever had.”
“Of course you have, and you’re not changing now! This isn’t about the quality or the quantity of your work. This is about you and your husband’s future.” Lois took Catharine’s hand and squeezed it gently. “You two are going to be fabulous parents, I just know it.”
Catharine leaned her head back and sighed. “With that level of confidence in me, I suppose I’ll have to be a good mother.”
“You’ll be wonderful. You’ll be the mother the other kid’s fathers wish they’d married.”
“I thought I already was.”
They shared a laugh. Catharine squeezed Lois’s hand. “So, girlfriend, how are you and Clark getting along?”
Lois dropped her gaze. “Okay, I guess.”
“Ooh, that’s not too good. Why don’t you tell Auntie Cath all about it?”
Lois lifted an eyebrow. “Auntie Cath?”
“I may be pregnant but I’m way too young to be your mommy.”
Lois chuckled low. “True.” Then she sighed and leaned back against the couch. “I don’t know, Cath. I haven’t talked to him for several days. He’s sent at least one e-mail every day, but lately they’re more business than personal. I tried asking him about it in the last one I sent, but he hasn’t responded yet. It’s like he’s pulling away from me.”
“He probably is.”
Lois slowly turned her gaze to her friend. “Really?”
“Yeah. It sounds to me like he’s trying to protect himself emotionally if the verdict goes against him.”
“So he’s putting distance between us to protect himself?”
“Yes. And he probably thinks you’ll feel less pain when he goes to jail if you two aren’t all that close.”
“But that’s – that’s terminally stupid! That’s idiotic! That’s – “
“It’s any number of negative adjectives you could name, but you’re not going to change his mind. You’ll have to tough it out and wait for him to come around.”
Lois shook her head. “Surprisingly, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Catharine spoke as gently as she could. “I know, hon, but men are hard-headed and stubborn. They get an idea in their teeny-tiny little heads and they won’t change their minds until they think it’s their idea to change their ideas. You have to be patient with him, that’s all.”
Lois would have continued their conversation, but Clay chose that moment to come banging down the newsroom steps with his wife’s wheelchair. He headed straight for Lois’s office and stopped in the door with the chair in front of him.
He glanced at Lois momentarily and then turned a stern gaze onto Catharine. Frowning, he said, “My dearest darling wife whom I love more than life itself, get your sweet little butt in this chair so I can take you home and take care of you.”
Catharine smiled at him sweetly and spoke submissively. “Yes, dear.”
As Lois helped her get settled, she whispered, “See what I mean?”
>>> Friday, September 26th
Superman strode through the courtroom door at five minutes before time to begin. He saw Connie and Blair with their heads together, whispering about the morning’s testimony and how far to let Jack or Melanie go before objecting. He glanced around the courtroom and saw Catharine sitting in her wheelchair beside her husband. They seemed to be having a very quiet argument, but Superman decided to greet them anyway.
He walked up behind them and put a hand on Clay’s shoulder. “Hey, you two. How is life treating you these days?”
Clay turned and offered Superman a handshake. “Pretty good, considering that my wife is a hammer-headed roan mare.”
Superman chuckled, and Catharine frowned at both men. “You guys know that means a red horse with a mind of its own, don’t you?”
Superman laughed aloud. “I know some folks in Wyoming who’d translate that more like ‘red female horse with a bad temper who bucks like a tornado,’ but I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. What’s going on?”
Clay spoke first. “Lois told her to take the rest of the day off. She wants to go back to the office.”
“It’s my job, Clay! Would you stay home just because your back hurt a little?”
“If I was pregnant and had a seriously bad back, yes!”
“Hey.” Superman leaned down and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “You two don’t want to get arrested for disturbing the court, do you? Especially since Clay’s in uniform?”
Clay faced forward and crossed his arms with a huff. Catharine shook her head. “Sorry. It’s a touchy subject.”
“That’s understandable.”
She put her arms out and held Clay around his shoulders. “But I plan to be a good girl and go home when we’re done here.”
“I’m sure Clay’s glad to hear that.” He straightened and put his hands behind his back. “You two here today to give me moral support?”
Catharine exchanged a quick look with Clay. “No, I’m supposed to testify today. Didn’t your lawyers tell you?”
“Ah. I didn’t know it was today. We probably shouldn’t be talking, then. I doubt the prosecutor would approve.”
Clay grunted. “Like he’d care. Besides, you’re out on your own recognizance. He’s not gonna bust you for talking to your friends.”
“You’re probably right, Clay, but I think we’re about to start. I’d better take my place.”
Catharine grabbed his hand before he could pull away. “Good luck, Superman.” Silently, she mouthed, ‘Talk to her.’
He stiffened for a moment, then nodded infinitesimally. Just then, the huge bailiff walked into the courtroom and called the court to order.
Judge Fields walked gingerly to the bench and slowly sat down on an embroidered cushion. “Okay, people, let’s get this show on the road. I’ve been sick, I’m feeling better, but I’m not completely well yet, so don’t do anything that raises my stomach acid level or I’m liable to be real ornery. Ms. Hunter, is your next witness here?”
Connie stood. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“Then let’s get on with it.”
“The defense calls Catharine Grant-Mooney.”
Catharine wheeled herself to the gate where another bailiff opened it for her. She spun around next to the witness box and locked her chair in place.
Connie stepped forward. “Your Honor, this witness can climb to the witness chair if the court requires her to do so, but her physician has advised her to stay off her feet for the next forty-eight hours. With the court’s permission, I’d like for her to remain in her wheelchair during her testimony.”
Fields nodded. “I don’t mind. Mr. Reisman, what do you think?”
Jack rose. “Since this is the witness’s physician making this recommendation, and it is in the interest of the health of the witness, the prosecution has no objection, Your Honor.”
“Excellent. Ms. Hunter, please proceed as soon as the oath is administered.”
The bailiff leaned down beside Catharine and extended the Bible to her. “Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
“I do.”
“Please state your full name for the court.”
“Catharine Grant-Mooney.”
Connie crossed her arms and wandered closer. “Ms. Grant-Mooney, may we address you by a nickname? Just to keep things as brief as possible.”
Her smile lit up the entire courtroom. “Sure. You can call me Cath.”
“Okay. Cath, what is your relationship to the defendant?”
“He’s my friend.” Her smile mellowed. “And I owe him my life.”
“Really? How do you owe him your life?”
“Three years ago this past spring, I was working at a radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio, as the assistant news director. We had worked a story about guns being smuggled to gangs in cities in the Midwest, and we found out they were coming from places like Metropolis and Gotham City and Philadelphia. We also learned that a multi-state criminal organization called Intergang was responsible for bringing in all these weapons, and that they were working on a lot of other bad things.”
“Other bad things?”
“Yes.”
“Could you give us some examples?”
Jack stood. “Objection, Your Honor. Irrelevant.”
“Overruled. The witness may answer.”
Catharine nodded to him. “Embezzlement, extortion, drug smuggling, suborning perjury, intimidation and bribery of local and state officials in several states – “
“Thank you, Cath. I think the court gets the idea.”
Catharine smiled. “Of course.”
Connie turned and meandered towards the jury box. “Would it bother you if I asked you about your wheelchair?”
Jack popped up again. “Objection. The witness’s medical state is not relevant to this proceeding.”
Connie spun to face the judge and sharpened her tone. “Your Honor, this witness’s current medical condition will show the lengths Intergang and its leaders were willing to go in order to accomplish their goals.”
Fields held up his hand for a long moment, then said, “I’ll allow it as long as it’s directly applicable to this case. Don’t wander too far afield, Ms. Hunter.”
“Thank you, Your Honor.” She turned back to Catharine. “Can you tell us why you’re in a wheelchair? Do you have a chronic disease, like multiple sclerosis?”
“No.”
“Is this a degenerative condition of some kind?”
She shook her long auburn tresses. “No.”
“Then why are you in a wheelchair, Cath?”
Catharine looked at the jury. “Three years ago, when Superman took down Intergang, they had marked a number of law enforcement, investigative, and media people for death. I was one of them.”
“What happened?”
“Intergang put a bomb – “
Jack bounced up. “Objection, Your Honor! Assumes facts not in evidence.”
Fields shook his head. “Overruled, Counselor. There are enough convictions on record to allow this as factual testimony.” He turned to Catharine. “Please finish your response.”
Catharine nodded. “As I was saying, Intergang put a bomb in my car, set to go off a few seconds after the door closed. It was a lot like the one that killed Mayson Drake. As I walked out to my car that night, one of the interns at the station called me back as I opened the door. I closed the car door and started back, and the bomb went off while I was still close enough to be caught in the blast area.”
“But you survived.”
She shifted in her chair. “Yes, but I sustained some long-term damage.”
Connie crossed her arms and lowered her voice. “What kind of damage, Cath?”
“I have permanent weakness in my lower back that puts me in this chair if I overwork myself. I also lost my spleen, which has affected and will affect my immune system for the rest of my life, and both my lower legs were broken. My eyes were flash-burned, and my doctor told me I’d probably have serious vision problems as I got older, problems I normally wouldn’t have had.” She lowered her head. “Maybe the worst is – I’m not supposed to have children.”
“Really?” Connie stepped beside the chair and put her hand on Catharine’s shoulder. “Cath? Didn’t someone tell me you were pregnant?”
There was an audible gasp in the courtroom. Judge Fields looked out over the gallery, but they quieted down without his encouragement.
Catharine looked up with tears shining in her eyes. “Yes. I’m pregnant, about two months along. And my husband and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
“But having a child is dangerous for you, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I – I’m probably going to have to be in bed for the last trimester. And I’m already unable to work the hours I could before I got pregnant.” She sniffed. “That’s assuming I can even carry the baby full term. And assuming I surv – come through this okay.”
Connie nodded and stepped back. “Cath, just a few more questions. Who was responsible for your injuries?”
Her face hardened. “Bill Church,” she hissed.
“How was he responsible?”
“He was the head of Intergang and Intergang tried to kill me.”
“And, in your opinion, who was responsible for stopping Intergang?”
She looked directly at the defendant’s table. “Superman is. If he hadn’t done what he did, they would have come after me as many times as it took to kill me. I owe him my life.”
“Thank you, Cath. Nothing further, Your Honor.”
Jack stood and let Connie pass him before speaking. “Ms. Grant, you say you were in Cincinnati that night and not in Metropolis?”
“That’s correct.”
“So you have no first-hand knowledge of what transpired here that night?”
“Except for Intergang’s attempt to kill me, no.”
Jack hesitated, then took a step forward. “Ms. Grant, why did you and your husband conceive a child?”
Catharine lifted an eyebrow at him and waited a beat. “Well, Counselor, I am, after all, a happily married woman.”
Even the giant bailiff laughed, despite his attempt to maintain a straight face. Jack shook his head. “I apologize. I didn’t frame my question correctly. I should have asked you why you and your husband are choosing to keep this child.”
“Because this is ours. Our baby will be part of me, part of Clay, and part of everyone else around us who loves us. I hope there’s a little bit of Superman in our child, too.”
Jack stepped closer and waved his hands. “But bearing this child is dangerous for you. Why not eliminate that danger?”
The courtroom went silent as the import of his question sank in. Catharine’s brows drew down and she clenched her fists. “Because, Counselor, I refuse to allow Intergang to take anything else away from me. They took more than forty lives that night. I knew some of those people personally. They killed mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles and friends and wives and husbands! They broke families! There are people still grieving because of what they did! I won’t let them have my baby too! I won’t!” She sobbed once and pounded the arm of her chair. “Do you understand that? I won’t let them take my baby’s life too!”
Shocked, Jack stepped back. He hesitated, thinking, then said, “No more questions, Your Honor.”
Catharine dropped her head into her hands and began crying. Fields said gently, “Ms. Grant, is your husband in the courtroom?”
She nodded weakly as Clay popped up and strode briskly to her side. He knelt beside her chair and held her as she cried on his shoulder.
The bailiff touched Clay’s shoulder and asked, “May I help, Clay?”
Clay shook his head. “Thanks, Brett. Can you get the gate and the door for me?”
“Sure. You take care of her, okay?”
Clay nodded. “Will do. And thanks again.”
Fields said, “The witness is excused. Take her home, Officer Mooney.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. Come on, babe, let’s go home.”
She nodded and slowly released him. He opened the brake handles on the chair and pushed it out of the courtroom. The only sounds were the squeak of rubber on the courtroom floor and Catharine’s sobs and sniffles.
Fields looked out over the courtroom and picked up his gavel. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I need a short recess.” He whacked the bench. “Fifteen minutes.”
